Fruit washer brush holder



Aug. 14, 1934. R, o. CONLEE .FRUIT WASHER BRUSH HOLDER' Filed Nov. 17, 1930 Z WW1! RoLLAA/o O. Cow/.55

Patented Aug. 14, 1934 TATES P'ENT FFEQE 3 Claims.

My invention relates to brushes and brush holders and is particularly adapted for use in a commercial fruit washer.

In the citrus industry in the United States, ma-

5 chines of several different types are extensively used for washing oranges, lemons and grapefruit. Because of its gentle treatment of the fruit, the Corey washer has been in general use for the past twenty years in washing lemons.

In the Corey washer a horizontal, annular brush, about six feet in diameter and facing upward, is rotatably mounted in a tank, and stationary spaced vertical guide walls are disposed over the. rotary brush to form a semi-annular Washing channel, the outer or both of these walls being faced with brushes. Above thischannel is suspended horizontally a flexibly connected series of brushes, and the tank is filled with water to the level of the last mentioned brushes while the an- 30 nular brush beneath the washing channel is rotated to feed fruit, submerged in said water, along said channel. During its passage along said channel the fruit is scrubbed clean by contact with said brushes.

Difiiculty has been experienced in providing means for flexibly supporting and connecting the overhead brushes so that relative movement of these will not result in lemons being occasionally caught between adjacent brushes and pinched.

As the least injury of lemons tends to become inoculated and cause decay it is ofgreat importance that all possibility of injuring the fruit be eliminated.

Accordingly it isan object of my invention to provide a fruit washer brush holder suitable for supporting and connecting the overhead brushes in a manner to substantially prevent injury of the fruit by these brushes.

To secure the best results in washing fruit in 0 the Corey washer it has been found necessary to provide each of the overhead brushes with a weight.

t is an object of my invention to provide such weights for the overhead brushes of the Corey lemon washer which will provide means for supporting the brush to which the weight is'attached and for flexibly connecting said brush to adjacent brushes.

It is a further object of my invention to provide such a weight upon which theflexible brush connecting means is rigidly supported but which means may be replaced when worn out at a comparatively slight fraction of the cost of the entire weight member.

As above noted, the overhead brushes are dis- (Cl. Did-202) posed about the semi-annular channel on the washer and the individual brushes are accordingly made in segmental shape the opposite sides of which lie in planes intersecting upon the axis of the washer. At the present time it is necessary to have a separate type of rectangular brush Where it is desired to run a course of overhead brushes in a straight line, which is sometimes an advantage at the entrance and discharge ends of the aforesaid Washing channel in the Corey washer.

It is an object of my invention to provide an overhead brush connecting and supporting means for a Corey washer which will permit a single type of brush to be used either for forming an arcuate series of brushes or a series extending in a straight line.

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects, as well as further objects and advantages, will be made manifest in the following descrip 7 tion, together with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a Corey Washer illustrating the manner in which my invention is utilized.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view taken on the line 22 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the weight members of my invention inverted to show the construction thereof.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a series of brushes hingedly connected together by the weight member of my invention.

Fig. 5 is an end elevational view of a series of brushes connected together by my invention il- -0 lustrating the impossibility of lemons being pinched between these brushes.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 5.

Fig. '7 is a longitudinal sectional view taken 9, on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Referring specifically to the drawing, a Corey fruit Washer 10 shown in Fig. 1 includes a tank 11 provided with a fruit soaking bay 12 and a fruit discharge bay 13 having a discharge elevator l4. Rotatably supported in the tank 11 is a brush wheel 15 having an annular brush 16 over which submerged means 20 is provided for forming a washing channel 21 along which fruit fed from the bay i2 is adapted to be carried by rotation of the wheel 15, this fruit being washed while traversing the channel 21. From the chan nel 21 the fruit is discharged into the bay 13 from which it is removed by the elevator 14:.

The bottom of the channel 21 is formed by the annular brush 16. Its sides are formed by semiannular vertical brush walls and 26. The top of the channel 21 is formed by a series of overhead brushes 28 the sides of which are inclined inwardly toward each other giving the plan of these brushes a wedge shape.

Secured to the brush back 29 of each of the brushes 28 is a weight member 39. The weight members 30 include a weight 31 which is wedge shaped like the brushes 28, as shown in Fig. 4. At opposite ends of each weight 31 and cast integral therewith are supporting ears 33 which are apertured to receive triangular links 34 of the usual supporting chains 35 which connect to an S hook 36, which in turn hooks into a ring 37 which is supported in a manner well known in the art on the frame of the washer 10.

Each weight 31 has end holes 40 and a central hole 41 provided therein. Formed in the lower face of the weight 31 is a relatively flat recess 42 for a purpose which will be explained later. Each weight member 30 is adapted to be secured to one of the brushes 28 by a pair of screw eyes 45 which are screwed through the holes 40 into the wooden brush back 29.

Adapted to fit into the recess 42 and. form a replaceable part of the weight member 30 is a hinge plate 50. The hinge plates are made in either male or female types 51 and 52, a male plate 51 being embodied in the weight member 30 illustrated in Fig. 3. Each hinge plate 56 has a wedge shaped body 55 which fits into the recess 42 and is centrally apertured to receive a bolt 56 which extends upwardly through the hole a 41 and rigidly secures the hinge plate 50 to the weight 31. Opposite side edges of the hinge plate body 55 are bent downwardly to provide side flanges 58 which lie close to and securely hold the brush backs 29 from relative movement to the weight member 30 when the latter is secured onto the brush by means of the screw eyes 45.

Provided on lower edges of the flanges 58 of a male hinge plate 51 are single hinge bearings 60 which extend downwardly and outwardly from the flanges 58. On each female hinge plate 52 double hinge bearings 61 are formed adjacent the ends of the flanges, these being spaced a sufficient distance to snugly receive single hinge bearings 60 therebetween.

When brushes 28 are assembled in a series as shown in Fig. 4 alternate brushes are provided with weight members 30 having male hinge plates 51, the others having female hinge plates 52. The hinge bearings 60 and 61 of adjacent weight members accordingly are adapted to mesh and be secured together by pins 65 which may be cotter pins or any other kind of pins which are deformed after being inserted so as not to come out accidently.

The hinge plates 50 are preferably made of sheet metal, die formed as shown, for the following reasons.

The means formerly used for connecting the brushes 28 embodied either screw eyes screwed into the sides of the brushes and receiving a pin of some kind to form a hinge, or else some other means having large eyes and loosely fitting the brush backs 29 so that a large measure of play was provided between adjacent brushes. This permitted the brushes to bend relative to each other sufficiently so that the lemons would extend upwardly between these brushes and be pinched between the wooden backs of the brushes when these would tend to return to normal position owing to the pressure of other fruit. By

the use of sheet metal in the formation of the hinge plates I am able to bring the adjacent brush backs 29 close enough together as shown in Fig. 5 so that the extreme degree of divergence possible between adjacent brushes is insufficient to admit even the smaller of the lemons which the C'orey washer 10 is adapted. to clean.

Besides the above advantages, the sheet metal construction of the hinge plate 50 permits this to be very cheaply manufactured so that it can be replaced at small expense. This practically prolongs the life of the weights 31 which do not wear out. The parts which wear the most on the weight member 30 are the hinge bearings 60 and 61 which are, of course, renewed when the hinge plates 50 are replaced.

Another distinct advantage of my invention is the provision of flanges 58 which extend alongside and bear against the brush backs 29 over the full length of the hinges. This assists materially in rigidly securing the weight member 36 to the brush back 29. Another feature which lends rigidity to the entire structure is the provision of the recess 42 in the weight 31 so that the hinge plates 50 are snugly received therein when secured to the weight 31 by the bolt 56.

An important function of providing alternate weight members with male hinge bearings on both sides while the other weight members have female hinge bearings on both sides is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4. When the brushes 28 are assembled with their tapering backs 29 pointing in the same direction, an arcuate series of brushes will be formed. When alternate brushes are reversed, a straight line series of brushes is formed which can be connected directly to the usual arcuate series to cover approach and discharge portions of the washing channel 27.

While I have shown and described but a single embodiment of my invention it is to be understood that many changes and modifications may be made in this without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a fresh fruit washing machine, the combination of: means forming a channel along which fruit is to be moved in a horizontal plane, said channel having a curved portion and a straight portion connected therewith; a series of male and female wedge shaped segmental brushes interspersed alternately edge to edge to conform to said channel and disposed thereover, said brushes being adapted to contact fruit moving along said channel, said brushes disposed in the curved portion of said channel having their narrow ends all disposed inwardly and alternate ones of said brushes disposed in the straight portion of said channel having their narrow ends disposed outwardly; male hinge means disposed on both sides of each of said male brushes; female hinge means disposed on both sides of said female brushes; and pin means extending through and connecting said male and female hinge means of each adjacent pair of brushes in said series.

2. In a flexible brush mounting, the combination of: a plurality of sheet metal brush back holders, each of which has downward flanges along its opposite edges which snugly lie against a brush back disposed therebetween; hinge tu es formed by bending from the lower edges of said flanges; pin means for connecting said aligned hinge tubes of adjacent holders; means to connect said brush backs to said holders;

means for loosely suspending said brush back holders, each of said sheet metal holders extending across a middle section of the brush back supported thereby; a cast metal weight overlying said holder and recessed to receive said holder; means to secure said holder to said weight so as to lie in said recess; and means on said weight independent of said holder for securing said weight to said brush back.

3. In a flexible brush mounting, the combination of: a plurality of sheet metal brush back holders, each of which has downward flanges along its opposite edges which snugly lie against a brush back disposed therebetween; hinge tubes formed by bending from the lower edges of said flanges; pin means for connecting said aligned hinge tubes of adjacent holders; means to connect said brush backs to said holders; means for loosely suspending said brush back holders, each of said sheet metal holders extending across a middle section of the brush back supported thereby; a cast metal weight overlying said holder and recessed to receive said holder; means to secure said weight to said holder so that said weight lies in said recess; means provided on said weight and independent of said holder for securing said weight to said brush back; and means provided on said weight independent of said last aforementioned means for connecting said holder to said suspension means.

ROLLAND O. CONLEE. 

